Capital no matter from ordinary people, wealthy families or sovereign wealth funds will be welcomed into Hong Kong as long as the money is legal, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said.
He made the remark when speaking to reporters on Tuesday as he was asked if the controversy involving the Dubai prince, Sheikh Ali Al Maktoum, would have an impact on further luring other family offices to the city.
Lee went on and said family offices are “super valued asset owners” and can proactively help Hong Kong create significant economic benefits. He also said all economies are striving to attract family offices at the moment and Hong Kong shouldn’t be in a passive position in this competitive race.
Therefore, Hong Kong has done a lot of work to improve its attractiveness and will continue to invite as many family offices that can provide legal funding as possible to set foot in the city, Lee added.
He noted that like other counties, Hong Kong will provide tax benefits to theses family offices, enterprises and investors and authorities will, at the same time, strike a balance between the benefits and risks.
Lee reiterated that as long as the money is legal, authorities will take all reasonable actions to attract investors.
The US$500 million family office of Sheikh Ali was scheduled to open in late March but was pulled at the eleventh hour. He was later revealed to be once a popular singer under the name “Alira” and a portrait of him in the Sheung Wan office has been removed.
The opening has been subsequently postponed to the end of May.
Hong Kong United Times丨香港聯合時報丨HKUT 